Santis Malt Edition Cask 1130 Review

Country: Switzerland

Brand: Santis Malt Edition Cask 1130

Type: Appenzeller Single Malt Whisky

Age: 8 Years

ABV: 64%

Date: 20/12/2012

Colour: Dark Amber

Nose: The Cask Strength guarantees a strong Nose. There is quite some Alcohol there so give the dram time to relax and open up. After a while I get a very agreeable combination of Fruity - and Grassy tones. It's comparable to the Edition Germany but more sophisticated. I recognise Red Grapes, Plums, Straw, Wood, Malt, Caramel, Honey, Vanilla, Bourbon and Buttered Toast. This could have been bottled at a slightly lower ABV of around 50% in my opinion. But if you like strong Bourbons such as Knob Creek Small Batch 9 or Noah's Mill 15 you will love this Nose.

Taste: Strong Delivery as could be expected with Sweet Malt, Red Fruits, Caramel, Straw, Honey, Plums and Wood (Spices). A hint of Cocoa Powder. Palate and Finish of the Cask 1130 are significantly better than the (already very nice) Edition Germany.

Finish: Very pleasant and quite long with Red Fruit, Red Wine, Caramel, Plum Liqueur and Honey.

I added a few drops of Water and the Alcohol is of course subdued. The characteristics of the Nose do not change dramatically however although Caramel and Honey present themselves even more clearly. On the Palate the Red Wine notes and Spices become more dominant. You can certainly add a bit of water to this whisky. Personally I would prefer to Nose and Sip it neat as the various flavour components are nicely balanced that way.

Rating:  87.5  

Nose: 22.5 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 22 - Overall: 22

General Remarks: Cask 1130 is a special bottling of the Locher Distillery. Only 450 bottles of 500 ml were extracted from this old Pinot Noir Cask. Bottling took place on September 21, 2011 at a Cask Strength of 64%. This can't be a cheap whisky of course and bottles are sold at around 150 US Dollars. This whisky is only for sale at the Visitor Centre of the Distillery in Appenzell, Switzerland. It's Non Chill-Filtered and no E-150 was added.

Drinking Experience Neat: Very Good

Conclusion: This is an excellent and well-crafted whisky, no doubt about that. Some people might find it a bit on the strong side with an ABV of 64%. But the Pinot Noir Cask obviously was of excellent quality. The Red Grapes and Plums combine very nicely with the Sweet Barley, Honey and Bourbon-like Vanilla. The Finish is very pleasant and long-lasting. The Cask 1130 scored high in Blind Tasting sessions and deservedly so. I certainly hope that the Locher Distillery will take it from here and surprise us in the future with other well crafted, sufficiently matured and nicely finished Single Malts. 

Jan van den Ende                                                                   December 2012

John Mayall - The Turning Point - 1969 - Review

Songs: The Laws Must Change, Saw Mill Gulch Road, I´m Gonna Fight For You J.B., So Hard To Share, California, Thoughts About Roxanne, Room To Move.

Type of Music: British Blues

Comments:

Mick Taylor had just left for the Stones and John Mayall was left with Steve Thompson on Bass only. Instead of looking for new guitar players and drummers however, he invited two session musicians (Jon Mark & Johnny Almond) and went on tour.

One of these basically acoustic concerts was recorded on July 12, 1969 at the Fillmore East in New York City.

The record is a relaxing mix of blues and long jazzy grooves carried by Johnny´s Sax and Jon´s acoustic finger-style guitar. The album got extra airplay of course on account of the single Room to Move that was released in countries like The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For once the single is indeed the best track on the album.

None of the other songs is bad as well. The only problem I have with the album is that all songs sound somewhat similar, caused by the stripped instrumentation and John´s slightly irritating voice.

I actually think that this might have been a great album if performed by a full band line up including electric guitar and drums. And with a better singer!!

Yeah, I know,  I´m going too far now. Because we wouldn´t be talking about a John Mayall album any longer. So let´s take The Turning Point for what it is. A pleasant relaxing jazzy blues album made by four performers that play together in a very natural way. And they couldn´t have had much time to rehearse!

Who should buy this Record: A Must For John Mayall and Jazz/Blues fans.  It´s not an Essential Rock Record however.   

Afterthought: You better look  for  the Re-Mastered version released in 2001. It has 3 bonus tracks, a/o the single Don´t Waste My Time.  

Score: ******* (7 out of 10)

Jura Diurach's Own 16 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Highlands - Islands - Jura

Brand: Jura Diurachs' Own

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 16 Years

ABV: 40%

Date: 17/12/2012 - 08+21/01/2013 - 14/04/2017

Colour: Full Gold/Amber (Artificially coloured)

Nose: I am really puzzled. Do I actually smell Cooked Vegetables (Cabbage) and Cooked Potatoes with Curry Sausages or is there something wrong with my Nosing tonight! An overdose of E-150? Or were a large number of refill Casks used? Or simply a bottle with a defect. I don't believe the latter is the case as the Palate seems so be normal. I also don't think it's Sulphur as the Jura 16 is only finished for 2 years in Ex-Sherry Casks. In any case, I'm not getting much else at first! Luckily, I'm a patient guy and after half an hour or so these off-notes are subdued a bit and I get Caramel, Oak, Honey, Pine, Toffee, Herbs, Malt and hints of Leather, Apricot and Orange. Still, this is not quite sufficient for a 16 Year old Single Malt. It's an unpeated Jura of course and therefore has none of the characteristics of its (mostly) peated Islay neighbours.   

I repeated the Nosing a day later, having avoided to eat or smell anything that could influence the proceedings. But the Cabbage, Potatoes and Curry Sausage were still there albeit slightly more subdued. This could be one of those Malts that actually improve after having been opened. I will taste and nose this dram again in a month or so. (*I nosed it again on January 8 and January 21, 2013 but my opinion stands.). I opened yet another (miniature) bottle today on the 14th of April 2017 and again I got those Aromas but yet again in a more subtle way.

Taste: Light, Watery, Fairly Smooth, Sweet, Slightly Musty and Dry at the same time with Honey, Pepper, Salt, Oak, Vanilla, light Orange, Cloves, Toffee and Custard. Completely drinkable of course but nothing to get excited about.

Finish: Short with Pepper, Salt, Toffee (Werthers Original), Vanilla, Oak and hints of Tobacco and Milk Chocolate.

I added a few drops of Water and won't do that again. It just waters the dram down and the Finish becomes quite bitter with some Licorice appearing towards the end.

Rating: 81  

Nose: 19 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: The Isle of Jura is located off the West Coast of Scotland. If you're on Islay and the weather is clear you can look across the Sound of Islay, the straight that divides both isles and see the Paps of Jura, the three magnificent peaks that characterise Jura. There only live around 200 people on the island. In the Gaelic language they are called Diurachs, hence the name of this whisky that is said to be the whisky of choice of the inhabitants. At the Isle of Jura, there is only one road, one pub and one distillery that was founded in 1810. Lots of Jura Malt is used by the owners Whyte & MacKay in their range of Blends but lately Jura is more and more promoted as a Single Malt and with some success. The 16 Year is sold at around US$ 60 per bottle (April 2017). It matures for 14 Years in Ex-Bourbon casks before being finished for two years in Ex-Sherry (Amoroso) casks.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good.

Conclusion: This was a bit of a disappointment. Despite the nice packaging and slick bottle, the Jura 16 is not at all an exciting Single Malt in my opinion. At the most it's solid basis material for standard Blends. Even without considering the unpleasant off-notes, the Jura 16 just does not bring enough complexity and finesse to the table. I bought a full bottle of this at the duty free and I'm not too pleased with that. I'm sure the Diurachs should be able to find a better dram on their little island! Maybe in a year or two I will go to Jura myself to help them find it. Paps of Jura, here I come!

PS: I went to Jura in the meantime and visited the distillery on a very rainy day in May 2014. To be honest I didn't become a real fan of the Jura distillery and its Single Malts. 

Jan van den Ende                       December 2012 + January 2013 + April 2017

Tyrconnell Ambassador's Choice 1992 Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: Tyrconnell Ambassador's Choice

Type: Pure Pot Still Whiskey

Age: 16 Years

ABV: 51%

Date: 15/12/2012

Colour: Pale Gold

Nose: Clean with Malt, Vanilla, Apples and Pears, Caramel, Oak, Raisin and Buttered Toast with Apricot Marmalade. Some Fruity - and (Lemon) Grassy Tones as well. Agreeable but not overly exciting.

Taste: Quite nice but not very complex. It reminded me a bit of a Banana-Liqueur. I also find lots of Malt and Vanilla (Custard), Spices (White Pepper and Cinnamon), Caramel and a tad of Honey.

Finish: Middle Long with Vanilla, Lemon, Pepper, Oak and a hint of Cocoa Powder. Quite Dry in the end.

I added a few drops of Water and I can't find any material changes. The dram softens up even more and I did get some Mint on the Palate as well. I think you should should try this Tyrconnell both ways to find out what suites you best.

Rating:  83.5  (out of 100)

Nose:  21 - Taste:  21.5 - Finish: 20  - Overall: 21

General Remarks: I received a sample of this dram from Glenn Vanbellingen who lives in Belgium. Thanks Glenn! Tyrconnell of course is a Brand of the Cooley Distillery. Tyrconnell is the name of an Irish race horse that won the Irish Derby in 1876 at 100-1 odds. The distillery was founded in 1820 by Alexander Stuart but closed in 1925. The brand name was bought and reintroduced by the Cooley Distillery in 1988.
This specific batch was distilled on November 5, 1992 and bottled on August 26, 2009. 

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: This is a step up from the Tyrconnell Single Malt. However it's also quite expensive at around US$ 100,- a bottle. The Ambassador' s Choice is a well-crafted whiskey but it's not complex enough to justify its high price in my opinion.  

Jan van den Ende                                                               December 2012

Antiquary 12 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: The Antiquary

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Age: 12 Years

ABV: 40%

Colour: Light Golden

Nose: Light, Dry and Crisp Nose with Malt, Light Peat, Flowery Perfume, Lemon, Oak, Spices and a hint of Honey.

Taste: Light and not at all complex. Slightly Dry at first but Sweeter later on. Grains, Malt, Butter, Citrus Peels, Oak and a distinctive hint of Rhubarb.

Finish: Short with light Peat, Oak, Caramel, Toffee and Pepper.

I added a couple of drops of Water but the result is a watered version of the original. This Blend is too light to accept additional Water.

Rating: 78.5

Nose: 20 - Taste: 20 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 19.5

Cragganmore Distillery

General Remarks: John and William Hardie of Edinburgh first blended the Antiquary in 1888. The name derives from a novel by Sir Walter Scott. Hardie was bought in 1995 by the Tomatin Distillery Co.Ltd. The Blend is very popular in Spain, Portugal and the UK. Packaging and the Diamond-Shaped Bottle are very nice. The Blend contains 55% Malt whisky and that's a high percentage. All in all 30 whiskies are used for the Antiquary. The heart of the Blend is Speyside, represented by a.o. Glenrothes, Mortlach, Linkwood, Benrinnes and Cragganmore. Other Malts are Tomatin, Clynelish, Royal Lochnagar (Highland), Glenkinchie (Lowland) and Bowmore (Islay). The Grain whiskies are from Port Dundas and Camaronbridge . All whiskies are matured for at least 12 years in American White Oak. It's not cheap at around 45 US Dollars per bottle.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: A very light Blend. Uncomplicated and drinkable but not at all challenging. The Nose is clean with basically Lemon and a touch of Peat. The only interesting detail on the Palate is the unusual Rhubarb taste. Never experienced that before. The rest is quite forgettable I'm afraid. 

Jan van den Ende                                                        December 12, 2012